Hospitality workers approve labor deal at Little Caesars Arena

Eighty-five percent of unionized hospitality workers at Little Caesars Arena who voted ratified the first labor deal at the new downtown Detroit home of the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons.

Unite Here Local 24 published the collective bargaining agreement results on Twitter on Wednesday. The vote was Tuesday.

Crain's has left a message with union leadership seeking comment, specific vote yes-no results and details about the labor deal.

The contract is with Buffalo-based Delaware North Sportservice, which was chosen in May by the arena's operator, Olympia Entertainment, as the venue's concessionaire.

The labor deal covers 830 workers represented by the union, said Victoria Hong, director of corporate communications for Delaware North.

The new arena, which opened earlier this month, is home to the two pro teams and will host events such as concerts and other sports on up to 250-plus days a year.

Some of the hospitality staff is from the Red Wings' former home, Joe Louis Arena, which used in-house concessions. The concessions workers at the Palace of Auburn Hills, which the Pistons are leaving at 29 years, didn't have a labor deal. The Palace's concessionaire was Chicago-based Levy Restaurants.

Basketball and hockey games typically have about 1,000-plus part-timers working as concession workers, beer vendors, etc. It's unclear if anyone covered under the deal will be employed full time.

In June, Olympia said it was seeking to fill 1,500 part-time jobs while Sportservice was seeking to fill 600 jobs. It's unclear if there are labor deals with other unions at the arena.

Detroit-based Local 24 has separate collective bargaining deals with Levy Restaurants for Ford Field, and with Sportservice at Comerica Park. It also represents workers at several local hotels including the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Detroit's three casinos, the Detroit Athletic Club and workers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Unite Here Local 24 represents hospitality workers in metro Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati. The union is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.